Chronic Scribe

Q & A on “the risk of thinking death is peace”

Q: Why does ACIM say that death is not the end of the dream? Such as “There is a risk of thinking death is peace”?

A: Death is not experienced when it occurs. Thus it is never the end of the dream for those who testify to it or worship it or experience it through the emotions as being real. Apathy is the result of believing in death as a way to peace. On the other side of the spectrum, enlightenment testifies to the Reality of Oneness with God in Heaven, and NDE’s testify to levels of consciousness that are heavenly or the counter to ego’s nightmare (salvation). Death has been proven unreal by these states of Mind, and the return to the body puts one is in a position to say so to relieve those who still believe in it.

Within the context of testifying to the belief in death, the risk is of clinging to the idea of suicide or murder as being “a way out”. Thinking in this way further destroys one’s peace; the Mind seemingly gets stuck looping on the thought of “forcing death to force release”.

The body, as a learning tool for the Mind, is meant to be lived out fearlessly, in a great guffaw, because death isn’t real, and fearlessness is the natural state. It is not helpful towards accepting the Atonement to mentally put the body to death for the idea of its existence (this is what the ego wants). The ego need not be vilified, though, but “melted with love for life”. To deny the body’s existence is to deny the power of the Mind, so one accepts the body’s appearance along with the Atonement for it. One says, “the body seems to be here, but that’s ok, it is neither here nor there in Reality”. Knowing that “Healing is of God in the end” (ACIM) – one has no worries about the body’s appearance, or disappearance. Accepting the Atonement vs testifying to the belief in death saves time from “marching towards a terrible end”.